Sofinnova Raises $500 Million Biotech Venture Fund

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sofinnova Ventures, a Menlo Park based investment firm, today announced the closing of Sofinnova Venture Partners IX, L.P. at the hard cap of $500 million and in excess of the initial fund target of $425 million.

Sofinnova focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs build successful biotechnology companies. Consistent with recent funds, SVP IX will provide capital primarily to companies with promising later stage clinical programs, along with select investments in earlier stage opportunities. Investments will focus on developing specialty pharmaceuticals and orphan disease products. Sofinnova intends to continue the firm's successful strategy of sourcing investments in both the United States and Europe.

"We value the support that our returning limited partners and new investors have shown for our strategy and the Sofinnova team," commented Jim Healy, General Partner, Sofinnova. "Sofinnova is proud to partner with talented entrepreneurs who are focused on developing innovative medicines that can positively impact patient care. We remain committed to working with our collective network to identify and develop important new drugs, build successful companies, and continue to generate significant returns for our investors."

Sofinnova recent IPOs and exits include Labrys (acquired by Teva), ZS Pharma (IPO, ZSPH), Versartis (IPO, VSAR), Aerie (IPO, AERI), Tesaro (stock sale, TSRO), SARcode (acquired by Shire), NextWave (acquired by Pfizer), Intellikine (acquired by Takeda), Hyperion (IPO, HPTX), Durata (IPO, DRTX), Amarin (stock sale, AMRN),  Vicept (acquired by Allergan) and Preglem (acquired by Gedeon Richter).

The partners of SVP IX are Srini Akkaraju, MD, PhD, Jim Healy, MD, PhD, Anand Mehra, MD, Mike Powell, PhD, Lars Ekman, MD, PhD, David Kabakoff, PhD and Jay Shepard.

About Sofinnova Ventures

Sofinnova Ventures has over 40 years of experience building life science companies into market leaders. With $1.8 billion in committed capital, the firm applies capital and expertise to take companies from inception to exit. Sofinnova's investment team of MDs, PhDs and seasoned executives has significant scientific, operational and strategic experience, and specializes in financing clinical therapeutics. Our team partners with entrepreneurs to build successful companies, advance medicine and address patients' unmet medical needs.

Sofinnova is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with offices in La Jolla, CA and Dublin, Ireland. www.sofinnova.com.

Contact Information:
Jennifer James
Partner – Investor Relations and Marketing
Sofinnova Ventures
(650) 681-8429; [email protected]

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SOURCE Sofinnova Ventures